NATIONAL COMMUNITY ATTITUDES TOWARDS VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN SURVEY

DASHBOARD METADATA

Collection Type Survey

Geographic Coverage National State/Territory (all)

Frequency Every 4 years until 2021

Data Availability Detailed publication / report publicly available Customised data

CONTACT DETAILS

Data custodian: Australian Government Department of Social Services
Telephone: (02) 6125 2200
Email: ada@anu.edu.au
Web address: https://ada.edu.au/accessing-data/

DESCRIPTION

The National Community Attitudes towards Violence Against Women Survey (NCAS) collects information about how people understand violence against women, their attitudes towards it, what influences their attitudes, and if there has been a change over time. It also gauges attitudes to gender equality and people’s preparedness to intervene when witnessing violence or its precursors. The survey has a focus on partner violence, sexual assault, stalking and sexual harassment.

The first survey was undertaken in 1995 and the second in 2009. The 2013 survey was led by VicHealth (Victorian Health Promotion Foundation) and the 2017 NCAS was led by ANROWS (Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety).

The 2013 and 2017 surveys were both funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS).

COLLECTION HISTORY

Collection commenced: 1995
Breaks in series: None
Other details: The design and approach of the 2009 National Survey on Community Attitudes to Violence Against Women builds on the methodologies adopted in the national survey conducted in 1995 by the Office for the Status of Women and the Victorian Community Attitude Study coordinated by VicHealth in 2006. ANROWS is taking over responsibility for the survey in the future.

COLLECTION METHODOLOGY

The survey collects information nationwide through telephone interviews with Australians 16 years of age and over. Households are selected on a random basis to take part through random telephone number generation.

SCOPE AND COVERAGE

Persons aged 16 years of age and over who were residents of private households in Australia.

DEFINITION OF FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Intimate partner violence/partner violence – any behaviour by a man or a woman within an intimate relationship that causes physical, sexual or psychological harm to those in the relationship.

DEFINITION OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE

Violence against women – any act of gender based violence that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty whether occurring in public or private life.

DATA AVAILABILITY AND DISSEMINATION

Reports available for download.

Access to confidentialised unit record data can be requested through the Australian Data Archive.

PUBLICATIONS

2009:

https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/national-community-attitudes-towards-violence-against-women-survey-2009

2013:

Australians’ attitudes to violence against women: Findings from the 2013 National Community Attitudes towards Violence Against Women Survey (NCAS)

2017:

https://ncas.anrows.org.au/findings/

HOW THE STATISTICAL COLLECTION INFORMS NATIONAL DATA INITIATIVES

This section provides an overview of if/how the statistical collection informs or aligns with key initiatives relating to family, domestic, and sexual violence statistics. These assessments are not an ABS endorsement or indication of data quality, but are intended to assist readers in determining whether the data will meet their data needs.

Relationship to 'Defining the Data Challenge for Family, Domestic, and Sexual Violence'

The summary table below is designed to indicate whether the data source informs the six statistical elements outlined in Defining the Data Challenge for Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence, 2013 (cat. no. 4529.0).

FDV - Family and domestic violence data
SV - Sexual violence data

STATISTICAL ELEMENTS	DATA AVAILABILITY
Context	FDV & SV
Environmental factors	FDV & SV
Psycho-social factors	FDV & SV
Risk
Community prevalence
Community incidence
Incident/Experience	FDV & SV
Characteristics of incident	FDV & SV
Responses	FDV & SV
Formal responses	FDV & SV
Informal responses	FDV & SV
Impacts/Outcomes
Programs, Research, and Evaluation	FDV & SV

Relationship to the 'Foundation for a National Data Collection and Reporting Framework for Family, Domestic, and Sexual Violence'

The three tables below provide an indication of which data items can be informed by the data source. The data items have been conceptually grouped into the key information units - Person, Event, and Transaction - as described in the Foundation for a National Data Collection and Reporting Framework for Family, Domestic, and, Sexual Violence, 2014 (cat. no. 4529.0.00.003).

PERSON

FDV - Family and domestic violence data
SV - Sexual violence data

DATA ITEMS	DATA AVAILABILITY
	Victim/Respondent
Socio-demographic	FDV & SV
Sex	FDV & SV
Age	FDV & SV
Indigenous status	FDV & SV
Cultural and linguistic diversity	FDV & SV
Marital status
Disability status	FDV & SV
Employment status	FDV & SV
Educational attainment	FDV & SV
Socioeconomic status
Mental health
Other	FDV & SV household composition; income; community perceptions; neighbourhood problems; feelings of safety/fear; attitudes about mitigating factors

EVENT

FDV - Family and domestic violence data
SV - Sexual violence data

DATA ITEMS	DATA AVAILABILITY
Location
Home/residential location
Workplace/place of study
Public transport
At a place of entertainment or recreation
Other public place
Other
Relationship
Current partner/spouse
Previous partner/spouse
Boyfriend/girlfriend/date
Parent
Child
Sibling
Other relative/family member
Other known person
Stranger
Other
Other characteristics	FDV & SV
Weapon use
Alcohol/other substance involved
Physical injuries sustained
Hospitalisation
Other	FDV & SV Perceptions of behaviour as criminal; main form of violence most worried about

TRANSACTION

FDV - Family and domestic violence data
SV - Sexual violence data

DATA ITEMS	DATA AVAILABILITY
Detection and prosecution	FDV & SV
Police
Courts
Corrections
Other	FDV & SV perceptions about police response; likelihood of reporting to police; knowledge of where to go for help; perceptions of false claims of violence during custody battles
Formal support
Police
Doctor/other health professional
Counsellor/social worker/mental health professional
Legal/financial service
Refuge/shelter/resource centre
Government housing/community services
Other
Informal support	FDV & SV
Friend/family member	FDV & SV
Pastoral care
Helpline
Other	FDV & SV whether/how would intervene if friend/family experienced violence